The Life of an Earthwork Services Job

Here you will see a step-by-step break down of how we approach a typical job.
This sample job is a residential subdivision with the over-excavation and
backfill of a vault addressed. Clicking on the pictures will bring up larger pictures
showing the different stages.

Transmittal

Most of our projects begin with either a phone call or an email. Once we have
the information such as job name and due date if we haven't already received one
we ask to have a Job Transmittal sheet filled out. You either obtain a
PDF or
Word Doc file from our web site or you
can use our online transmittal.

The things we find most important to have filled out on the Transmittal are
the Contact Name and Phone Number as well
as Job Name and Due Date.

With that information all together on the transmittal,
which will be a permanent part of the jobs paperwork, we can quickly obtain
any other information that we need to complete the project from that sheet without
having to look it up in our database.

Plans

The next step is to obtain all of the information such as plans
and CAD files that we will need to complete the project.

To obtain a set of plans you can ship us hard copies
or email PDF files if you have
them, or if the plans are available online We have access to the Builders Exchange
of Washington online plan center
www.bxwa.com.

If you do not already have CAD files we can contact the engineer to see if
the CAD files are available. If they are not we will digitize the existing and
design information directly from the PDF or hardcopy plans.

Existing

The first step in calculating the volumes is to create the existing surface.
This generally begins with the contour data followed by manually inputting spot
elevations and breaklines, but if possible
we try to get the electronic survey data that creates the best possible existing surface.

Stripping and Demolition

After the existing surface is built in the computer we then identify areas
of stripping and demolition. Once those areas are defined in our software the
computer removes those quantities from the existing surface and quantifies them.

Over Excavation

If necessary for the project we then address
over-excavation. In this sample project we over-excavate for a vault.

The bottom of excavation elevation is entered and then is offset out and
then at a slope to catch existing elevations. At this point we can calculate
the amount of excavation to build the vault. Once that is calculated the excavation
pit is staged into the existing data creating a new existing surface that reflects
the excavation having already been completed. Then a block is placed in the pit to represent
the vault so that we can calculate the backfill around the vault to design subgrade elevations.

That is a very simple example of over excavation. One of the things that sets us
apart from our competition is our ability and experience at modeling and calculating
complex construction stages involving things such as over excavation. Click here to see
a slide show example of a more complex
Over Excavation Scenario. If you click on the right side of the image it will advance to the next slide.

Design and Subgrades

We next create the 3D design surface at finish grade. After that we identify
within the program all surfaces that require a subgrade depth. The software will
then calculate the surface areas and lower the 3D design model to subgrade elevation.

Volumes and Graphics

We are now ready to calculate volumes and create graphics for the project.
Samples of the different types of graphics we produce can be seen on our
sample graphics page.
The volumes report will be sent to you in two formats. A simplified version
of the report showing major areas and job totals will be written into a letter
that also lists all of the assumptions that were used when calculating the volumes.
The volumes spreadsheet
is a more involved breakdown of the calculation that lists all of the specific areas that
we broke out and their associated cuts and fills as well as surface areas. Here you
can find a detailed explanation of the volumes report.

As the volumes reports and graphics are completed they will be emailed to you
and when the entire package is complete if you request it will be printed and shipped to you.
As you examine our report if you find that you would like to make changes to any of the
assumptions such as stripping and subgrade depths that were used we can make those
changes and get you updated volumes rather quickly.